Snippets in Time
by Foxibabz21
Summary: This is only one-shots featuring different casts/pairings! There will be no continuation unless I decide to! Ratings will vary depending on chapter, so please read the author's notes beforehand!


I finally decided to write a story featuring the Persona series. Persona 5 was amazing and I couldn't stop thinking about all the awesome characters. When I played, I "dated" everyone so I could see which ones I actually liked. Makoto and Ann were my favorites followed by Haru and Futaba. Hifumi wasn't bad either. This story is just going to be one-shots. No continuation unless I decide to do that. They will feature different casts and pairings. Please read author notes before every story to see the rating/warnings! Also, I do not own Persona 5.

Featuring/Pairings: Ann/Protagonist (Ren), everyone in the phantom thieves makes an appearance.  
Warnings/ratings: I'd say this is barely T. Just some mention of underage drinking. 

I decided to do an Ann/Ren pairing first. In this universe, Ren did not date anyone and was in a platonic relationship with all the females, including Ann. I hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

Ann twirled her hair around her finger nervously. The knots in her stomach seemed to have tightened in the last few minutes. The anticipation of seeing him again was driving her insane. She hadn't seen him since they had all dropped him off at home after their stop at the beach. That'd been March. It was now July and the start of their summer break.

They had all decided they wanted to go to the beach again during their break. Haru had managed to book them a swanky beach house. The plan was to all meet at the house and catch up for a week. Makoto and Haru had come back home from university the night before. Ren and Morgana would be meeting them there since they lived so far away.

Earlier that morning they had all met at Haru's house. They had kept the van they had all bought together at her place. They had all piled into the van with Makoto driving. Ann had taken the passenger seat. It had been an easy drive, with all of them catching up on life. She had packed the sweets; Ryuji the savory snacks. They had all been currently munching on it while they neared their destination. She and Makoto had gotten into a separate conversation, which had led to Ann's quiet musings.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen in love with Ren, but she had been too scared to tell him before he had left. She had been secretly pining after him ever since. They had remained in touch, facetiming once a week to catch up if both their schedules allowed it. She knew he spoke with the others, since she did as well. She really wasn't sure where she stood with him though. She knew he considered her one of his best friends, but somewhere along the line she had decided she didn't want that anymore.

She had concocted an elaborate plan for finally telling him how she felt. She had confided her plans to Makoto last night since she'd been the only one of her friends she had told about her secret crush. Makoto hadn't been a huge fan of her plan, but had begrudgingly agreed to help.

Makoto had finally pulled into the driveway of their home for the next few days. They all scrambled out of the car, excited to revel in the sheer size of the place. Her parent's house paled in comparison to it. She couldn't wait to get inside and check it out.

"I'm afraid this isn't in my budget," Yusuke admitted, eying the house slowly.

Haru laughed good-naturedly. "Don't worry about it. I wanted to see everyone, so this is my treat."

"Alright, Haru! I bet this place has a hot tub!" Ryuji grinned, eyeing all the girls.

Ann narrowed her eyes. "Pervy Ryuji strikes again. Why don't you make yourself useful and start grabbing the stuff?"

They all unloaded the car and made their way up the steps and into the front door. They walked through, gawking at everything as they made their way to the living area. Ann's breath hitched in her throat as her blue eyes landed on Ren's moppy hair. He had been staring at his phone when they had all walked in. He broke out into a big grin when he looked at them. He had ditched his glasses, she noticed. Ryuji dropped the bags and made his way over, hooking one arm around Ren's neck.

"Ren, Ren! The boys are finally back together!" He chuckled happily. Ryuji dropped his arm and picked up Morgana next. "There's my favorite cat!"

Morgana protested until Ryuji dropped him. "I see you haven't changed much," he huffed out, patting his hair down where Ryuji had ruffled it. Everyone made their way to greet Ren, but Ann hung back, wanting to be last. Morgana leapt into her arms.

"Lady Ann! I've missed you," he stated, nuzzling his head into her neck.

Ann laughed and kissed the top of his head. "I've missed you too Morgana!" She deposited Morgana into Futaba's waiting arms.

Futaba gave Morgana a big hug. "Sojiro and I miss you, you know."

The rest of the conversation seemed to melt away as Ann hugged Ren. She hoped he couldn't feel her erratic heart beat as it traitorously thumped against his.

"I've missed you," she stated into his chest. She stayed that way for a beat or two too long and reluctantly let go.

Ren smiled warmly at her. "I've missed you too, Takamaki."

"So what's the plan?" Futaba asked excitedly.

"I figured we could dump our stuff in the rooms and go grocery shopping to get that out of the way," Makoto stated.

"Ugh, do we have to?" Ryuji complained. "The beach is calling my name!"

"I don't want to hear you complain when your stomach is growling. To the food!" Futaba exclaimed, striking a pose with her arm pointing to the door.

"Shouldn't we put our things in the bedrooms first? Just to unclutter this area at least?" Haru pointed out.

"To the bedrooms!" Futaba swirled around, guessing where the bedrooms were located.

"To the bedrooms!" Haru squealed out. Both girls grabbed their things and made a mad dash to the rooms.

"Hey, no fair! Leave one of the good rooms for me!" Ryuji exclaimed, running after them.

"I wonder if any of the rooms have paintings?" Yusuke started poking his head into the rooms.

"Want to room with me if we have to?" Makoto asked Ann.

"Oh, great idea! Let's look for the master bedroom! You are going to get stuck bunking with Ryuji if you don't hurry up," she teased Ren.

Ren laughed. "It'll be like old times."

"If the bed is big enough, can I join you ladies? I'm tired of Ren's cramped bed." Morgana followed them as they headed down the hallway.

"You're the one who hogs the whole bed, you little traitor," Ren joked good-naturedly.

Ann looked at Makoto who shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure, if you promise not to share our secrets with the other boys." Ann winked at Morgana. If cats could blush she was pretty sure Morgana would have.

* * *

After they had picked up the groceries they sat around deciding on what to do next.

"Let's go to the beach!"

"Awful suggestion Ryuji, it's getting dark. Next!" Futaba shook her head no fervently.

Ryuji hung his head low. "I can't win."

Haru patted his back sympathetically. "You'll have all of tomorrow and the next five days after that."

"We could make dinner?" Ren suggested. "A little celebration since we're all back together?"

"That sounds wonderful!"

"Count me in!"

"Fish sounds yummy!"

Ann saw her opening and took it. "That's a great idea! We could also, you know, celebrate with adult beverages?"

"We don't have any alcohol though," Makoto pointed out, giving Ann a shifty look.

"Well, I may or may not have borrowed some from my parents." Ann felt a little uncomfortable saying it out loud.

"Takamaki, you rebel!" Ryuji looked too excited. Maybe Makoto was right in not approving her plan if Ryuji liked it.

"Ah, I've always been curious to know how I'd paint in that state. Good thing I brought my things with me."

"My father let me try wine once. The taste…left much to be desired." Haru scrunched up her nose in remembrance and disgust.

"Oh well, you don't have to have any if you don't want to. It's just an option." Ann's eyes darted to Ren to see his reaction. A mischievous smile played on his lips.

"Then it's decided. Let's get cleaned up and start dinner. Someone can play bartender," Ren stated.

"We could always look it up? It can't be that hard, right?" Makoto wondered.

"Leave it to me!" Ryuji stated proudly.

"Somehow I feel like that's a bad idea," Futaba mumbled. They all headed to their respective rooms to get cleaned up.

Ann walked with Makoto to the master bedroom they intended to share together. Morgana tried slipping in quickly but Ann stopped him with her foot.

"Nuh-uh you little rascal. Girls only for now!"

Ann heard Morgana mumble stuff under his breath as he slinked off towards another bedroom. She shook her head.

"Still think it's a good idea?" Makoto asked her as she shut the door behind her and locked it for good measure. Never could be too safe with those guys lurking around.

"I need a bit of liquid courage to muster up what I want to say to him. What could go wrong?" Ann got down to the floor and dug through her luggage for the outfit she had planned for tonight.

Makoto scoffed at her. "You're joking, right? Want me to list it out?" She too was busy digging around her luggage.

Ann finally found the dress she'd been looking for. It was a simple dress, nothing too scandalous, which showed off her long legs. And her cleavage if she was being honest. She didn't want anything too showy or skintight. Not like her phantom thief outfit left much to the imagination. Ren had already gotten an eyeful of her in that outfit plenty of times.

She went for a casual red dress since she knew he hadn't seen her in anything like it before. She had also decided to keep her hair down. She did a once over of herself in the mirror, satisfied with what she saw. She took a deep breath and exhaled—on to the second part of her plan.

Makoto and Ann made their way back to the kitchen lugging the alcohol she had brought. Ren, Ryuji, and Yusuke were in the kitchen prepping, with Morgana watching. Haru and Futaba were setting up the table.

"Mmm, smells delicious, what's for dinner?" Ann asked as she put the alcohol down in the bar area.

"Yusuke had the idea of making sukiyaki so that's what we decided to do. Just cutting—" Ren stopped talking when he looked up from cutting the cabbage. Ann watched as his eyes quickly took in her appearance, a blush tinting his cheeks. Ann felt a little nervous as she waited for his response.

"The, uh, the cabbage. You guys look nice," he finished lamely. Ann noticed he hadn't stared at Makoto at all when he complimented them both. She'd take that as a win.

Morgana stopped staring at the food and jumped closer to her. "You look ravishing, Lady Ann!"

Ann smiled, ignoring Ryuji's blatant ogling. "Thanks Ren and Morgana. Ryuji, eyes up here please. You'd think you'd have gotten used to them by now given how often you used to stare," she huffed out, crossing her arms.

Ryuji just shrugged and stared at Makoto next, who shifted uncomfortably with the attention. "Ryuji, she didn't mean find another victim. If you don't stop staring I'll be forced to punch you."

Ryuji averted his eyes quickly. "Okay, okay, calm down! Can't blame a guy for trying. Is that the alcohol? I found a couple of recipes to use with the shochu. Want to help me make some?"

Makoto eyed him suspiciously, but relented. "Probably best so you don't go overboard with the alcohol."

"You guys need any help?"

"Sure. Would you mind taking all of these things to the table? We're about done." Yusuke handed Ann some of the ingredients and she took it over to where Futaba and Haru were.

Soon they were all around the table, waiting for the sukiyaki to finish cooking. Futaba kept slapping Yusuke's hand whenever he tried adding more ingredients in.

"Who wants a drink? Makoto and I made two. Your options are either a lemon sour or grapefruit. They both have club soda and shochu."

Ann crinkled her nose. She didn't fancy fizzy drinks. "I'll try the grapefruit one, I guess."

"I'll take the same as well," Haru stated boldly.

Makoto grabbed three of the cups and handed them out, taking one for herself as well. Ryuji gave Ren, Yusuke, Futaba, and himself the lemon one.

"Hey! What about me?" Morgana huffed out.

"Alcohol isn't good for cats. Besides, you're not old enough."

Morgana spluttered. "I'm older than you! And you're not old enough either."

"For once I agree with Ryuji. It may not be good for you." Makoto tried reasoning with him.

Morgana huffed and walked over to Ren, sitting down by his cup. He looked expectantly at him. "I don't think it's a good idea either. Sorry Morgana."

Ignoring Ren, Morgana quickly stuffed his head inside Ren's cup and had a few licks before Ren could stop him. Ren yanked Morgana back and away from his cup. "Morgana!"

Morgana grimaced. "Bleh, that tastes gross!"

Ren eyed his cup hesitantly. "Maybe I'll try the grapefruit one first."

Ann grabbed her drink and took a small sip. It tasted like a grapefruit soda with a hint of something bitter. She didn't much care for the fizzy part of the drink, but besides that it wasn't bad.

Futaba smacked her lips. "This is pretty good. Dangerously good."

"Oh yes, much better than the wine I've tried," Haru agreed.

"It's actually decent. We did a pretty good job, Ryuji!"

"Hell yeah we did!" Ryuji took a big gulp and choked a little.

"Haru, can I try some of your grapefruit one? The lemon one is very tart, I think you'd like it." Yusuke and Haru exchanged cups.

Haru giggled after taking a sip. "You're right! I'm keeping this one!"

Ren took a drink of his new cup as he finished stirring their food. "Okay guys, dig in. Foods ready."

They all served each other and fell into their normal chatter, catching up on each other's lives. It was like the last few months just melted away, bringing back old times. Ann glanced at Ren as he started laughing at one of Ryuji's latest antics. Her heart gave a little lurch at how his eyes crinkled in mirth. He caught her staring and she blushed, looking down at her empty plate.

Soon enough they all had empty plates. They had all refilled their drinks, trying the different one's Makoto and Ryuji made. Ann hadn't paced herself well. She was on her third drink while the others seemed to have barely started on their second. Ann felt a little warm and her ears felt like they were filled with bees. She wondered if maybe she had had a little too much to drink.

She stood up and braced herself on her chair as the room spun a little. She felt hot all of a sudden. The deck outside looked really tempting. "I'm going to go outside to cool off for a little bit. It's really hot in here. Is anyone else hot?"

"It's a little warm," Haru stated. Ann knew Haru was just trying to be polite. No one else seemed uncomfortable with the temperature.

Ann walked over to the deck, hoping she didn't look like she needed help. She hadn't tripped or stumbled, which had to count for something. She heard little padded feet behind her and turned around.

"Mind if I join you, Lady Ann?"

Ann giggled. For some reason, that'd been funny to her. "Sure!"

Ann stepped outside and instantly felt better. The temperature had dropped and the cool, salty breeze felt nice on her feverish skin. She walked towards the rail and rested her elbows on it, gazing out into the darkened beach. She couldn't see the waves but she could hear them crashing into the shore. It soothed the bundle of nerves she couldn't seem to get rid of. She felt Morgana jump up on the rail next to her, his tail brushing against her arm.

"Feeling better Lady Ann?"

Ann stayed quiet, mulling over the question. Her plan so far had gone disastrously. Makoto had been right. The idea wasn't a great one to begin with. She hadn't meant to get this tipsy (she was assuming she was at that stage). The anxiety she'd been feeling coupled with the fizziness of the drink had made her down it quicker than she had anticipated. Luckily she hadn't made a fool of herself to him. _Not yet_ , she thought sarcastically.

She sighed, drumming her fingers on the rail distractedly. "Does Ren talk to you about anyone?" That was definitely the booze talking. She knew how Morgana felt about her and never wanted to hurt his feelings, but she needed to know.

Morgana looked at her. "We talk about everyone."

"No, I meant like…does he mention me at all? Or Makoto…or someone else we haven't met?" Clearly booze and subtlety didn't go hand and hand.

Morgana's ears drooped a little and his tail twitched quicker. "As far as I know, he's not mentioned anyone like that."

Ann wasn't sure how she felt about that answer. He hadn't mentioned a specific girl to Morgana, but he hadn't mentioned her either. She felt a little deflated that she hadn't come up.

"Are you…do you lo—" Morgana stopped when the sliding door opened up, and with it the chatter of the others could be heard. Ann heard someone step out and close the door, but didn't bother to turn around.

"You're right, it does feel better out here."

Ann froze, her heartbeat quickening at the sound of his voice. She couldn't seem to control how her body responded to him. She turned around slowly, taking in his silhouetted form.

"Hey Morgana, Naru had something to give to you and is demanding to do it now." He chuckled and shook his head. Morgana jumped down and headed to the door, stopping to glance at Ann and then at Ren. He sighed, his tail drooping as he walked through the door that Ren had reopened. Ren closed it behind him.

Ren made his way to her, standing next to her and gazing out towards the ocean. Ann peaked through the corner of her eyes at him. The wind blew, ruffling his already messy hair even more. Her fingers itched to run through his dark, curly hair.

"Ann," Ren began, turning his body so he was facing her. "You look beautiful tonight. I meant to tell you earlier. That dr—"

Ann felt like the whole world had just stopped. It was just him and her in this tiny little part of the deck. Ann moved closer to him and before she knew it, she had interrupted him.

"Ren…I love you." He looked at her, his eyes searching hers in confusion.

Ann gasped in shock, moving away from him ever so slightly. "Wait, what did I just say?" She whispered to herself.

She couldn't read his expression in the dark as he said, "You said 'I love you'."

Ann shook her head in disbelief. "I said what? I…" Her whole face flushed from embarrassment, but she'd be damned if she lied to him about her feelings. "I mean…yeah, I said it! And I meant it too! I really love you!" She said determinedly.

Ren closed the space between them and captured her lips with his. Ann froze from shock for a split second before closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his neck. Her fingers found his hair at the nape of his neck and she gently clutched it, tugging him even closer to her. She pressed her body against his, wanting to feel every inch of him against her. She deepened the kiss, loving the feeling of his hand at her lower back. He pressed her firmly against him.

After a few minutes, they broke apart. Ann couldn't seem to control her breathing. She noticed Ren's eyes drop down to her heaving chest and then quickly back up, a blush marring his features and a guilty look etched on his face. "I love you too, Ann. I wasn't sure how you felt about me. I was worried you were in love with someone else." His eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Ann wanted to stand on her tiptoes and kiss his worries away. Instead, she placed a hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow. "With who?"

Ren's eyes shifted to the sliding glass door and then back to hers. He stayed silent.

"Wait, you don't mean Ryuji, do you? Oh god, he's like the brother I never wanted! It's always been you." Ann didn't wait for his response. She kissed him, pulling him lower by tugging on his shirt. He complied. She felt his hand go to her lower back and a shiver of excitement burned where he touched her. She bit his lip, capturing it in her mouth and sucking gently. He groaned into her mouth and a fire seemed to engulf her whole body at the noise.

He pulled away first this time and rested his forehead against hers. She pouted up at him, disappointed he ended it. "What I was trying to say earlier before I was so rudely interrupted was that I love this dress on you." Ren smiled teasingly at her, his fingers playing with her hair.

Ann gave him a wicked smile. She stood on her tiptoes and placed her lips next to his ear. "I only bought this dress so you could take it off," she whispered.

* * *

And there is my first one-shot for this couple! I hope you guys liked it! Please leave a comment or review and let me know what you think! If you have a favorite pairing, please let me know! I'll try writing them next! I was inspired by a Taylor Swift song called "Dress" if some things sound familiar. Until next time!


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